


Shatter

by Heavenbat



Category: Guild Wars 2 (Video Game)
Genre: Angst, Gen, Guild Wars 2: Path of Fire, Original Character(s), Temporary Character Death, The Departing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-08
Updated: 2019-02-08
Packaged: 2019-10-24 16:45:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,066
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17707946
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Heavenbat/pseuds/Heavenbat
Summary: The Misfit Krewe faces some truths, then faces a god. Things do not go well.





	Shatter

**Author's Note:**

> Vex and Khallalh belong to https://radioactivesoda-gw2.tumblr.com/  
> Forcas belongs to http://fouquesartcorner.tumblr.com/

It had all started out so innocently.

The Misfit Krewe--Khallalh, Vex, Forcas, Jozzik (the Great) and Darijja--had just learned of the true nature of Elder Dragons, of the ‘cycle of feast and famine’ in the words of the Exalted Sadizi, of the legacy that Glint had left behind, the grand plan laid forth by the Crystal Dragon. And then they’d been deposited on a rocky outcrop overlooking a sandpit teeming with sand sharks, the hot and unforgiving Elonian sun bearing down on them.

Khallalh told Taimi to relay a message to the rest of the inner circle to meet up atop the Pillars of Supremacy, and then promptly turned off his communicator.

“Hey, Khal, you doing okay buddy?” Jozzik asked, prompting the rest of the Krewe to turn and look at Khallalh. To anyone who wasn’t familiar with Khallalh, they would have said the Asura looked tired, perhaps a little bored… but Jozzik and the rest of the Krewe could see something entirely different. Faint stress lines creased his forehead, the barest hint of shadow under his eyes, even a bit of extra tension in his posture.

And it was no wonder, nor was it any surprise. The weight of being Commander had taken a heavy toll on Khallalh. Frankly, Jozzik didn’t know how he handled it. It was one thing to be the center of attention on a stage; it was something entirely different to be the center of attention for the entire world, with the lives of everyone resting on your shoulders. Especially now that everything had gotten so much more complicated. Gods and dragons and the constant threat of apocalypse looming over them all like an ominous stormcloud.

“I will be fine,” Khallalh said after seemingly being surprised at the entire Krewe showing concern. “That was simply a lot of information to process.”

Vex looked both worried and totally unconvinced, but also unsure how to address this. And so instead he simply shuffled closer to Khallalh; Jozzik could tell Vex wanted to give Khallalh a comforting pat or gesture of some kind, but he knew all too well that Khallalh was… less than fond of public displays of affection.

“You’re telling me,” Darijja said, sitting down on the rock they’d been deposited on and then flopping onto her back dramatically. She popped her helmet off and set it on her chest as she glared up into the sky. “It _figures_ that we’d only find out about all this stuff about dragons and Vlast _after_ the fact. Like, great, now we know just how important Vlast was, but he’s _already dead!_ ”

Forcas clapped her hands together, getting the group’s attention, then quickly began signing. - _At least we still have Aurene_.-

Of course Forcas would bring up Aurene; she was the one who had somehow formed a mystical connection to the young crystal dragon, a connection which they later found out to be one of Scion and Champion. Jozzik would be lying if he said he wasn’t a little envious of Forcas for having a connection with an actual, honest-to-alchemy _dragon_. But, then again, the connection made sense--Forcas and Aurene had much in common, perhaps most notably the fact that neither of them actually spoke. And yet Forcas always seemed to know what Aurene was feeling, much the same way he himself could often figure out what Forcas was trying to communicate even when her sign language failed her.

Lately, the connection between Forcas and Aurene had been getting even more pronounced; through some magic, like a much more mild and benevolent form of Kralkatorrik’s Brand, small patches of crystal had begun growing on Forcas’s shoulders. She swore up and down it didn’t hurt, and though some seemed concerned over this development, Jozzik believed her wholeheartedly.

“And we’ll make sure to keep her safe. We won’t make the same mistakes the world made with Vlast,” he reassured her.

Forcas gave a determined nod and a thumbs up, which was effectively her way of saying ‘we got this.’

“Yeah, but you heard what’s-his-face,” Vex said sourly, flopping himself down onto the rock as well, crossing his arms sullenly across his chest, “There are _two_ empty spaces and we only have _one_ Aurene.”

“Why, Vex, I’m surprised you were paying attention!” Jozzik exclaimed, unable to stop himself from needling the warrior. He didn’t like this sour mood that was spreading over the group. Vex immediately glared at him and looked as if he was going to start yelling, before Khallalh’s quiet voice cut through in an obvious attempt to stop the argument before it got started.

“Yes, well…” Khallalh trailed off, reaching up to run a hand through his hair. “I am sure we will think of something, but there is no point in brainstorming up here. We need to report to the others, regroup… and get out of this sun.”

Back to business already. Jozzik couldn’t help but catch the flatness in Khallalh’s voice, even more pronounced than usual. He sounded almost robotic. Like he was running on autopilot.

“Oh, I don’t know, I thought it’d be nice to take a small break, get a bit of a tan--” Jozzik started to say. Before he could even finish, Vex had jumped back up to his feet and had already started walking.

“Nope! No more sun! One sunburn was _more than enough!_ ” Vex protested, whistling for his raptor.

“I’m with them,” Darijja said, pushing herself up to her feet. She wiped a line of sweat off her forehead, then put her helmet back on. “It’s hotter than Balthazar’s asshole out here.”

“Perhaps you would be less hot if you did not insist on wearing that heavy metal armor,” Khallalh suggested, not for the first time.

“But I like this armor!” Darijja protested.

“If it’s just for the looks, darling, you know I could find something for you that had the same aesthetics but was better suited for the desert than a _metal suit_ ,” Jozzik suggested. “Or--or at least let me enchant the armor so it has a cooling effect? At this rate you’re going to end up roasted alive by your own armor.”

“I’m keeping the armor! It’s my lucky suit.” Darijja was nothing if not stubborn. “...But I don’t think I’d say no to that enchantment. It’s like a sauna up in here.”

And for the first time that day, Khallalh gave a faint smile. Granted, it was accompanied by an affectionately exasperated eye roll, but it was still a smile nonetheless.

 _Mission accomplished_ , Jozzik thought with a satisfied grin; at least the Krewe’s usual antics helped bring back a bit of Khallalh’s usual self.

“So how far away is this spire?” Jozzik asked.

“Just over there,” Khallalh said, pointing. In the distance, through the blowing sand and shimmering haze of the desert, a large rock formation jutted up into the sky, visible even from this distance. Four pillars rose from the top of the formation.

“Ah. So too close to waypoint to,” Jozzik said, mildly disappointed.

Forcas nudged him mischievously and signed, - _What’s the matter? Don’t think you can keep up with us?-_

“No, I just don’t feel like walking,” he retorted. And with that, he summoned his raptor and Blinked up into the saddle. “But if we must, at least I can do so in style.”

“At least we don’t have to deal with any more quicksand,” Darijja snorted, summoning up her own raptor. “I’m still finding sand in places I didn’t know sand could get to.”

“Then perhaps next time you will remember to use a skimmer instead of attempting to simply jump across,” Khallalh said.

“I still say I should’ve been able to make that jump!”

“Maybe you could’ve if you hadn’t been wearing a full suit of heavy armor~” Jozzik said with a wink; sensing incoming retaliation, he flicked his reins and charged forward, cackling as he went.

“Hey! Take that back!” Darijja shouted behind him; he could hear the heavy thud of raptor feet hitting rock and then sand as she charged after him. Moments later, several other pairs of footsteps joined the first as the rest of the group followed suit.

Dodging the locusts and sand eels that seemed to be swarming over the hill, he rode down a small series of steppes until he splashed down into the small river delta that surrounded the skimmer ranch. He glanced behind him to see just how much of a lead he had on the others--and instead caught sight of Forcas lobbing a small object towards him. He followed its trajectory as it sailed through the sky.

It detonated as it was right above him, emitting a loud bang and a flash of light which startled his raptor into panicking. The reptile’s sudden startle tossed Jozzik off the saddle; he managed to Blink a few feet away, upright and on his feet.

“Hey now, that’s--” he called out, just as the rest of the group raced past him, sending a spray of water washing over him. He didn’t even have time to react before he was soaked.

His raptor nudged him curiously as he sputtered and wiped water from his face. At least he wasn’t hot anymore.

Re-mounting, he trotted after the group; as he approached them, he put on a defeated grin and held his arms out to his sides. “Well played, well played. Even I, the Great and Magnificent Jozzik, can admit when I’ve been defeated.”

“You can?” Vex asked sarcastically.

“Surprising, I know. You know what else is surprising?”

Before Vex could answer, Jozzik Blinked down right next to Vex and pulled him into a very damp hug.

“Wh- _HEY!_ ” Vex shouted, shoving him away. “I didn’t even do that!”

A few feet away, Forcas was practically doubled over in silent laughter.

“Oh, I know--and don’t think I’ve forgotten about _you_ , missy!” he said, and Blinked over to the helpless Forcas. He scooped her up into a hug as well, just as damp; if he had to suffer through wet clothes, so did everyone else.

Khallalh cleared his throat, bringing everyone’s attention back to him. “If you all are finished, we have an appointment to make.”

“Aw come on, what’s the rush?” Darijja protested. “It’s not like Rytlock and the others are gonna be here soon anyways. We’ve still got time.”

At that, the exhausted look from before returned to Khallalh’s eyes. “I don’t want to keep them waiting, and the faster we get this done with the faster we can start figuring out a solution.”

A silence fell over the Krewe as the high-spirited mood almost instantly faded.

“Well then… let’s get to climbing,” Vex said, putting on his most determined face.

 

\--

 

The five asura stepped between the rock-formed archway, up the small set of stone stairs, and onto the platform between the four pillars.

And then the God of War himself appeared.

“Balthazar!” Khallalh exclaimed, taking a half-step backward in shock. Darijja gave a small, alarmed squeak, then instantly went for her swords. Vex had done the same, unsheathing his weapon and stepping defiantly between Khallalh and the towering god.

“Expecting someone else?” Balthazar taunted, his deep voice shaking the very ground they stood on.

Fear rising in Jozzik like bile, he grabbed Forcas’s arm and turned, ready to Teleport the group away. But before he had the chance to even begin summoning his magic, a towering wall of magical flame surrounded the plateau they stood on. He took a step back in alarm as a wave of intense heat washed over him, sucking the air out from his lungs.

“I must say, with all five of you, this might be a halfway decent fight,” Balthazar laughed. “So what do you say we take things a little more slowly this time?”

“We don’t want to fight you--” Khallalh called out, before Darijja interrupted.

“ _I do!_ ” she shouted, brandishing both of her swords as she stepped forward. “You’re supposed to be a champion of the people and instead you--you--” Her words were choked off by tears; Jozzik could see her hands shaking. He wasn’t one to believe in the divinity of gods, but Darijja, raised by humans, was a firm believer. “You're just a selfish glory hound!”

But Balthazar merely chuckled again, summoning a blade of his own, wreathed in flames. your passion and valor are admirable. Perhaps if circumstances were different--”

“Shut up!” Darijja snapped, taking a step forward, her ears pinned back in anger. Jozzik subtly pulled his own weapons off his hips, readying to cast Teleport in case he needed to move her out of harm’s way.

“Darijja--” Khallalh tried to warn her, but before he could get any more out Balthazar swept his sword in an arc and a wave of flame swept out towards the five asura.

Scattering in five different directions, the Krewe immediately leapt into action. Like a well-oiled machine, they fell into their usual roles; Forcas falling to the back and lobbing one explosive after the other at Balthazar, Vex and Darijja leaping forward, and Jozzik reflexively summoning a handful of mirages.

“Jozzik!” Khallalh called out. “Get us out of here!”

“I'd love to but I can't cast through that giant wall of flame behind us!” Jozzik shouted back.

Khallalh’s expression tightened, and it was as if he had spoken his thoughts aloud for everyone to hear.

_Then we have no choice. We have to fight._

“Canach and Rytlock will be here soon. We just have to make it until then,” he said.

“Face it!” Balthazar called out, sweeping his sword once more and sending both Darijja and Vex flying when they were too slow to dodge out of the way. “Your friends have abandoned you! It’s just the five of you little rats. Fight me!”

Darijja pushed herself up onto her feet, readjusting her crooked helmet. Before anyone could stop her, she lunged forward, barreling straight into Balthazar’s leg. It was one of her favorite moves; charge in like a bull with both swords slicing through the air like a particularly deadly dance. And this time there was a more frenetic energy to her dance, fueled by rage and hurt.

But, Jozzik noticed with a twisting feeling in his gut, it barely seemed to faze the so-called god.

This was too big. _He_ was too big. Sure, as Asura, they were used to being the smallest things on the battlefield, and that rarely stopped them. They’d taken down things that were easily far bigger than they were. But they usually had help, and Jozzik was only just now realizing that even Vex, as he too charged into Balthazar, only barely reached the top of Balthazar’s boot. And Vex was easily the biggest of them. How were they supposed to--

He felt a hand on his shoulder, stopping him from taking steps backwards that he hadn’t even been aware of. When he glanced to the side, it was Forcas who stood there, a look of grim determination on her face. She gave him a thumbs up and a determined nod.

_We’ve got this._

Jozzik took a deep breath and nodded back. Even if they were severely outmatched, they had to try. And they didn’t have to beat him, they just had to stall. When he turned back to face Balthazar, he brandished his weapons with a new determination. There was still that twisting knot of fear lodged in his stomach, but it was no longer paralyzing.

With an explosion of magenta butterflies, he summoned several illusory versions of himself, then charged in.

It was chaos. Pure, terrifying chaos. Vex and Darijja were forced to switch to ranged attacks just to stay out of the line of fire--literally. Even with all five of them giving their all, it was like kicking a stone wall.

And yet…. Slowly but surely, it felt like they were making progress. With every hit that Balthazar landed, they retaliated fivefold. It might’ve been Jozzik’s imagination, but he could swear he could see Balthazar getting winded. Glancing around to his comrades as he Blinked backwards out of range from an attack, he could see that the others noticed too. There was a light of confidence in their eyes, determination in every shot they took.

If he had to face down a god, Jozzik was glad that it was with this Krewe.

“You dare defy a god!” Balthazar roared, his voice shaking the plateau beneath them.

“You’re no god!” Darijja shouted back, taking aim with her rifle. “You’re just a maniac who can’t admit when he’s wrong!”

“Is that so?” Balthazar said, turning to face her. He took a step towards her, only to be almost knocked off balance when the grenade that Forcas had thrown exploded at his feet.

This time, when he turned to face Forcas, it was Jozzik and Vex who took advantage of the distraction, with Vex launching a volley of arrows at Balthazar while Jozzik lobbed an orb of pure magical energy directly at the back of his head.

“Enough!” Balthazar shouted, and his outburst was punctuated by four beams of pure, white-hot plasma crashing down from the sky. One of them hit Vex, knocking the warrior off his feet. Another only just barely missed Forcas; she dodged out of the way with mere seconds to spare. Jozzik Blinked out of way of one, tackling Khallalh out of harm’s way from another as he reappeared.

By the time they all regained their footing, Jozzik’s stomach dropped. A strange aura was radiating from Vex… and, more terrifying, Balthazar had launched forward and hit Darijja, plucking her off the ground with just one hand.

“You, little rat. You worship the Six?” he questioned, holding the squirming warrior up close to his face. She seemed so small in comparison to him--his hand was big enough to grab almost her entire torso, pinning her arms to her side as he squeezed.

“The _five_ ,” Darijja spat, her voice strained and winded.

“How quaint,” Balthazar laughed. “And how stupid. Do you really think any of the Six would accept a little rat like yourself?”

Before any of them could react, Balthazar threw Darijja across the plateau. With a sickening crack, she hit the base of one of the pillars and crumpled against it. And then Balthazar raised his hand, and the barrier of flame surrounding the plateau intensified with a deafening roar, turning the ground near it into scorching rock. The added instability from the suddenly super-heated rocks caused the pillar to lean, then tilt, and then it came crashing down on top of Darijja.

Jozzik felt strangely cold as Darijja’s voice pierced the air in an anguished scream. In that one instant, the tide of battle shifted away from them. Panicked, Jozzik Blinked over to where Darijja had been.

He was met with a sight which stopped him in his tracks; the rocks hadn’t completely crushed Darijja, but her entire lower half was pinned beneath tons of rock, trapped in a scorching hot inferno. There was a terrible, terrifying smell beginning to permeate the air, one which Jozzik didn’t want to think about what it meant.

“H-hold on, I-I’ve got you,” he stammered, summoning several copies of himself to try to lift the rocks off her. But when he reached out to try to grab the rock, he instantly had to step backwards; the heat was unbearable, like trying to grab a pot off the stove.

Darijja screamed in agony again, causing Jozzik to recklessly dart forward and try grabbing hold of the rocks anyways. Some part of him knew that it was futile, that there was no way he was strong enough, but he had to _try_. Even as the rock blistered and burned his hands, he still scrabbled at the rock until he could bear it no longer.

“Vex! Vex, help, I can’t--” he called out, turning to look for Vex.

His ears immediately dropped at the sight he was met with.

In those few moments, everything had changed. Bolts of plasma continued to shoot out of the sky, thundering down and scorching the earth where they hit. Forcas, Vex, and Khallalh were desperately scrambling to avoid Balthazar’s attacks, which were becoming more frequent and more devastating with every moment. It seemed like he was focusing most of his attention on Khallalh now, targeting the Commander even at the expense of being hit repeatedly by the others.

Realizing that the others had their hands full, Jozzik went back to work in trying to free Darijja himself. It wasn’t like he was going to be much help in the actual fight, anyways. Maybe if he just focused on some of the smaller rocks, or tried breaking them up first… with desperate and reckless abandon, he threw everything he had into trying to free her. Worryingly, her cries of pain were getting quieter, weaker.

“No, no, come on, you have to keep fighting,” Jozzik said, feeling like his heart was going to pound its way out of his chest. Sweat, from heat and fear and exhaustion, was streaming down his face and his neck. “It’s--I’ve almost got you, just keep--” Jozzik said, taking a step back to try to get some relief from the heat and to aim a blast of magic at a weak-looking rock. He glanced back towards the other three as they battled Balthazar, though, and once again felt himself freeze in fear.

A bolt of plasma hit Forcas, sending her tumbling across the plateau; to follow up, Balthazar set the entire field ablaze, knocking her, Vex, and Khallalh down.

As they lay still on the ground, feebly trying to cling to consciousness, Balthazar raised his hand again, surrounding the three of them with light.

“Still with me? Good,” he rumbled, a cruel smile plastered on his face.

Something clicked for Jozzik, and he felt like he couldn’t breathe. Balthazar was just _toying_ with them. This was all just a game. He was just batting them around, using them like toys--and reviving them when they fell.

Before he had time to think more on this revelation, Balthazar swung again, this time only hitting Forcas and Khallalh, sending them skidding across the ground in Jozzik’s direction.

“Suffer a little more loudly!” Balthazar boomed, lunging forward towards them. “Cry out! Let everyone hear!”

“Why are you doing this?” Khallalh grunted, feebly pushing himself to his feet. “You’re just _playing_ with us, aren’t you?”

“So you haven’t figured it out yet?” Balthazar taunted. “Looks like you aren’t as smart as they all say, hmm?”

“Shut _up!_ ” Vex roared, charging straight at Balthazar with enough force to actually make the god stumble.

“Vex, no--” Khallalh tried to call out, reaching a hand towards the warrior, worry written plainly across his face.

And for good reason; that magical aura from earlier was beginning to pulse frenetically, occasionally sending off arcs of sunset-colored energy.

“You are a nuisance,” Balthazar said, and casually swatted Vex away like he was nothing.

In the brief moment of distraction, Jozzik Blinked over to Forcas; she hadn’t gotten up yet, and he was terrified of what that could mean. He breathed a sigh of relief, however, when she feebly sat up, wincing and breathing heavily. Her clothes were singed and torn, and she seemed to be cradling her chest. But there didn’t seem to be any sign of intense bleeding, nor any outward sign of broken bones.

- _I’m still good,-_ she signed. - _Check on Khallalh._ -

About to obey, he was stopped by that dreadful booming voice.

“I really did think you’d be more of a challenge,” Balthazar taunted, causing Jozzik to look up sharply. The god was approaching the three of them once again, and he knew Forcas couldn’t take another hit.

Panicking, he grabbed hold of her and Blinked away--and only moments later realized his mistake.

He’d left Khallalh alone, with Balthazar advancing on him.

The god raised his sword above his head and brought it down in one fell swing, sending a wave of fire out from the point of impact.

“ _KHALLALH!!_ ” Vex screamed, the agony and fear in his voice like a punch to the gut. As Jozzik snapped his gaze over to the warrior, his eyes widened in shock.

The strange magical energy was now crackling off Vex--no, crackling _through_ him. Veins of arcane light had spread across his skin, and he was now practically radiating that energy. It was only now that Jozzik realized what it was.

Pure Ley energy.

Once more Vex charged forward, this time screaming in agony and rage and anguish. And this time, when he collided with Balthazar, it was with an explosion of pure, volatile magic that pushed both of them backwards.

Setting Forcas down gently, Jozzik once again found himself frozen in indecision.

He could still hear Darijja’s cries of pain. Khallalh’s body was lying terrifyingly still on the ground. Forcas was barely conscious. And Vex had apparently gone berserk while possessed by ley energy somehow.

He didn’t know what to do. What _could_ he do? He wasn’t a fighter, nor was he a healer. He wasn’t strong enough to pull Darijja out, and he didn’t know how to revive Khallalh. He was just a stupid magician with a bunch of stupid tricks, half of which wouldn’t even work against an _actual god_.

Everything was falling apart, and as far as he could tell, Balthazar had barely even been _trying_. Still paralyzed, he watched as Vex and Balthazar clashed again and again, Vex recklessly charging straight into Balthazar’s attacks. Whenever the god’s flame connected with Vex’s sparking magic, it set off another explosion which pushed the two apart again. And even more worryingly, Vex looked like he was in absolute agony. His face was twisted in pain, his actions and movements seemed even more erratic than usual. And yet he kept on fighting in blind rage.

With a deep breath, Jozzik furrowed his brow. “Forks, stay here, you’re too hurt to keep fighting,” he told Forcas, setting her down and Blinking towards Balthazar.

“Hey ugly!!” he called out, shooting an orb of magic at the small of Balthazar’s back. As the god turned, Jozzik summoned more illusory copies of himself. “Has anyone ever told you that you’ve got a drowned dolyak attached to your face? Oh wait! That’s just your beard!”

As Balthazar swung at all of his illusory copies, he darted forward, rolling between the god’s feet. His heart felt like it was racing faster than a raptor at full speed.

His roll landed him exactly where he wanted to be; right next to Vex.

“Hey big guy, I’m gonna try something,” he said, pointing his wand at Balthazar, then raising his other hand… and setting it on Vex’s shoulder, right against one of the bigger veins of magic crackling across Vex’s skin.

A rush of pure, powerful, volatile magic surged through Jozzik; it was like what he’d imagine being struck by lightning would feel like, only a hundred times more painful and a thousand times more exhilarating. This must be what dragons felt when they consumed magic, he thought. For a moment, just a moment, he was convinced that if he wanted to, he could destroy the world with a mere thought. But then that moment passed, and he was left feeling like an overcharged battery on the verge of explosion. He instinctively knew if he didn’t discharge soon, the energy tearing its way through his body would erupt from him by any means necessary.

Luckily, he had a target ready and waiting. Channeling every ounce of the magic now threatening to destroy him into his wand, he fired a single, wide beam of energy that struck Balthazar square in the chest… and just kept going. The magic exploded out the other side of Balthazar, shooting into the sky like a beacon of pure arcane energy. Somewhere along the line, both he and Vex started screaming as the magic tore its way out of them and through Balthazar.

After what felt like an eternity, Jozzik managed to break their connection, pulling his hand free. Immediately both of them collapsed, shaking and gasping for air. Jozzik was pretty sure he now knew what it felt like to be turned inside out as every last molecule of his screamed out in agony.

“Did…. did we do it…?” Vex wheezed, the veins of magic fading slightly on his skin. Occasionally a few sparks would still shoot off from one of the now-faint veins, causing the warrior to wince in pain, but at least it seemed much less severe than before.

“No,” came Balthazar’s voice. “A valiant effort, though.”

Jozzik felt like his soul shattered. He feebly lifted his head, to find himself faced with a Balthazar with a hole blasted clean through his chest… that was slowly healing up before his very eyes.

And just then, a sound reached Jozzik’s ears; a familiar sound, one that would have normally been extremely welcome but in this moment only brought dread to Jozzik’s heart.

Aurene’s roar.

Balthazar looked up with a cruel, triumphant smile as the dragon appeared soon after her cry, streaking down towards the god.

“It’s about time, Scion! Just a little too late, though,” Balthazar taunted, shooting the crystal dragon out of the sky with an orb of fire. She landed hard; desperately, Jozzik tried to get up, but found that his limbs just wouldn’t move. That blast had taken literally everything out of him.

“Aurene, no! Get out of here!” he shouted as she scrambled to her feet and positioned herself between Balthazar and Forcas.

But as she let out a jet of flame at the god, he summoned ethereal chains to bind her. As he approached Aurene, though, Jozzik noticed a small shape flying through the air, moments before it exploded in Balthazar’s face.

In the momentary distraction the explosion caused, Forcas got to her feet and grabbed ahold of some of the ethereal chains, tugging at them desperately.

“That’s enough. I’m through playing,” Balthazar snapped, reaching down to pluck Aurene up by the chains as if she weighed nothing. He flicked Forcas off the chains, sending her thudding unceremoniously to the ground.

And then, in a flash of light and fire, he disappeared.

The flames disappeared too, leaving the plateau eerily, devastatingly silent. In the newfound silence, Jozzik realized he could hear Darijja still whimpering. With a colossal effort, he managed to at least turn his head; she was lying limp on the ground now, no longer struggling. Her eyes looked glazed over, and her breathing was sharp and ragged.

“Vex--” he said, looking to the warrior who had somehow managed to sit up and turn around. The words died in his throat, though, at the look on Vex’s face.

“No,” Vex whispered. And then, much louder, his voice cracking with pure emotion, he repeated, “NO!”

Jozzik forced himself to roll over, every fiber of his being screaming in pain and protest. He watched as Vex stumbled over to Khallalh’s side and scooped Khallalh up into his arms.

Time seemed to stand still as Vex began calling Khallalh’s name, gentle at first but quickly growing more desperate, more frantic.

“C’mon Khallalh,” Vex begged, “Th-this is just some sensory overload thing, right? You’ll be okay, damn it…”

Jozzik’s ears felt like they were ringing as he stared at Khallalh’s limp body. He was so still. And his eyes--staring straight ahead, unseeing, unfeeling. Unresponsive.

Unliving.

The horrible realization crashed down on Jozzik with all the weight of the world. With every movement feeling like his last, he somehow managed to push himself onto his feet, unsteady. He took a step forward, then stopped. What did he think he was doing? What did he think he _could_ do?

In stunned silence, he slowly looked around. Forcas had managed to get to her knees and was staring blankly at the spot where Balthazar had vanished. A trickle of blood was running down the side of her face, which she didn’t seem to notice. Darijja was still lying pinned beneath the fallen column, a sickening pool of blood starting to seep out from underneath the pile of rocks. And Vex was desperately trying to rouse a Khallalh that was--

He could still save Darijja. He could still do something. Stumbling over to the pile of rocks, he once again began desperately clawing at them, trying to pull them off his fallen friend.

“No,” he heard himself saying. “No, no, no--” over and over again as his attempts became more and more frantic. He stood back and tried to blast them with magic, only to find that nothing happened, not even a single spark. He had drained himself of magic.

“No! I won’t let you die too!” he cried, slamming himself into the boulder. It budged, just a little.

“J...Jo...zzik?” Darijja mumbled.

“Yeah, it’s me, hold on just a little longer, okay? I’m sorry, I’m so sorry--”

“I…. can’t feel…. My legs…”

Jozzik’s heart stopped as his efforts faltered. A wave of cold terror washed over him despite the sweat still drenching him. And then he redoubled his efforts, terrified about what that meant. Suddenly, a shadow appeared beside him; with a start he snapped his gaze to it, only to find Forcas beside him, methodically moving some of the smaller rocks aside. Tears were streaming down her face, and she resolutely kept her gaze forward.

That was the final straw; seeing Forcas, normally so stoic, with tears running down her face was what broke him. He started sobbing, slumping forward against the pile of boulders.

 

\--

 

Some time later--Jozzik wasn’t sure how long it was, since time had long since lost its meaning--Canach and Rytlock finally arrived. Too late. Too late by far.

With Rytlock’s help, they were able to unbury Darijja. It wasn’t a pretty sight; her legs were completely mangled, likely crushed… and there was a horrible smell of burnt flesh that hinted at further damage. Rytlock said he’d seen this sort of thing before in his fights with the Flame Legion, said her legs had likely been fused with the metal of her armor in the intense heat. Said she’d probably lose her legs, and that she was lucky to even be alive.

And then they turned to Vex and Khallalh; Vex, who was still cradling Khallalh’s still body and pleading with Khallalh over and over again to come back. Though much weaker than before, ley energy still coursed through his body, occasionally arcing out of him and leaving small scorch marks on the ground. He was shaking visibly, looking like he was constantly on the verge of passing out but stubbornly refusing to as he cradled Khallalh’s lifeless body.

Jozzik blamed Rytlock and Canach at first. He shouted at them, screamed at them, asked them where they’d been when they were needed. And they didn’t even fight back. Jozzik was almost surprised they seemed as grief-stricken as the Krewe. How _dare_ they. It was their fault Khallalh was in this situation. And he didn’t believe for a second that they cared about Khallalh beforehand. Nobody would put this much stress on someone they cared about.

Forcas had returned to simply kneeling on the ground, now staring at the sky. She had both arms wrapped around her chest as if she was trying to hold herself together. 

In just a few short minutes, they’d lost everything.

And through it all, Vex continued to beg for Khallalh to come back. He swore and bargained and begged, telling Khallalh to stop joking, that he needed him. Part of Jozzik wanted to snap at him, to tell him that Khallalh _wasn’t_ coming back, but he shoved that part down. He knew Vex was hurting more than any of them, physically and emotionally, in ways he couldn’t imagine.

Jozzik wasn’t sure how long they stayed there, mourning and recovering and waiting for the airship to come so they could safely move Darijja. She was still alive thanks to Forcas building a healing turret to stabilize her for the time being, but was still in critical condition.

And then, suddenly, Vex let out a gasp of surprise. As everyone’s attention snapped back to him, they watched in awe as a miracle occurred.

Khallalh stirred, and then took a deep, shuddering breath.


End file.
